sugarcoat

IPA/ˈʃʊɡ.ə.kəʊt/
IPA/ˈʃʊɡ.ɚ.koʊt/

sugarcoat — verb

  • sugarcoatpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • sugarcoats3rd person singular
  • sugarcoating-ing form
  • sugarcoatedpast simple

1. to describe something negative in a deliberately gentle way, making the problem

1.動詞及物B2
釋義

to describe something negative in a deliberately gentle way, making the problem appear less severe

例句

The principal did not sugarcoat the warning about the school's budget cuts.

adverb: not sugarcoat + noun phrase for blunt honesty

Renata refused to sugarcoat her disappointment with the team's performance last season.

同義詞
  • gloss over

    implies avoiding or downplaying negative details rather than actively making them look good

  • whitewash

    stronger and more negative; suggests a deliberate cover-up of wrongdoing

  • embellish

    broader; can be positive or negative, and means adding attractive but possibly untrue details

反義詞

文法句型

not sugarcoat + noun phrase

sugarcoat + noun phrase (with negative tone)

no sugarcoating (gerund)

用法筆記

This figurative sense is far more common in everyday speech than the literal sense. It almost always appears in negative, critical, or reluctant contexts — either explicitly denied ('don't sugarcoat it') or used to criticise someone for being too gentle with bad news.

常見錯誤

❌He sugarcoated the cake with icing.' (when you mean literally applying a sweet covering to a cake).
✅He iced the cake.' or 'He frosted the cake.
💡For cakes use 'ice' or 'frost'; 'sugarcoat' (literal) is mainly used for pills, almonds, and breakfast cereals.

2. to put a sweet outer coating onto food, medicine tablets, or confectionery items

2.動詞及物B1
釋義

to put a sweet outer coating onto food, medicine tablets, or confectionery items

例句

The baker sugarcoated the fresh doughnuts while they were still warm from the fryer.

subject as agent + sugarcoat + noun phrase for literal coating

Many children prefer pills that have been sugarcoated to make them easier to swallow.

passive: be sugarcoated for describing food or medicine

同義詞
  • coat

    general; can use any substance, not only sugar

  • glaze

    suggests a thin, shiny, hard layer, often with sugar or egg

  • frost

    primarily for cakes and baked goods with a thick, soft layer

文法句型

sugarcoat + noun phrase

be sugarcoated (passive)

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1 (MAKE PLEASANT) by the concrete object: this sense takes edible items (pills, nuts, fruit, cereal) as the direct object. The figurative sense takes abstract nouns (truth, news, facts).